One of my goals yesterday was to get the door jambs and casings installed on the doorway/opening between the kitchen and breakfast room. I have no idea why, but it didn’t really occur to me until I was ready to get started that doing that by myself might be a bit of a challenge. My brother had even been over to our house earlier in the day (for a non-house-related reason) and I could have easily asked him to help me with it, but it didn’t even dawn on me.

So there I was around 7:00pm, staring at the 11-foot span that needed to be trimmed out, wondering how the heck I was going to do it. But if there’s one thing I pride myself on, it’s coming up with ways to do projects by myself since that’s how I work about 99% of the time. So I knew I could do this if I just gave it some thought.

Here was the issue. When you’re installing a door jamb, you generally need to install the top jamb (called the head jamb) first, and then the side jambs go in under the top jamb on the sides to give support.

The longest MDF boards available were 10 feet long, so I knew I’d have to piece together my top jamb for this 11-foot opening.

The challenge? How was I going to lift a 10-foot piece of 1 x 6 MDF into place, get it leveled, shimmed, and nailed into place by myself?

I finally decided that I needed to use the same technique that was used to install the header on this wall, where I cut and installed a jack stud on the left side. Then we lifted and placed the header onto the jack stud, then lifted up the other end, and put the second jack stud into place. I’d use the same idea here, but this time I’d only be lifting a 1 x 6.

I started by measuring and cutting the side jamb, leaving enough space at the top for the top jamb to slide above it. I used a scrap piece as a spacer, so I wasn’t just guessing.

This was challenging in itself because I had to hold the spacer, hold the 1 x 6 into place, hold another scrap piece on the side against the tile so that I’d know how far over the 1 x 6 needed to be placed, and nail it into place all at the same time. I was utilizing not only my hands, but my head, my knee, and anything else I could to hold all of these things into place while I attached it with two nails.

And of course, with all of that, there were no hands (or anything else) left to hold a level and insert shims where needed to make sure the side jamb was plumb. So I had to work a bit backwards here and shim the side jamb after I had already nailed it into place. It actually worked out just fine using a hammer to drive in the shims as far as they needed to go and then I added more nails right through the shims.

Next came the most challenging part — installing the 10-foot piece of 1 x 6 on the top. I placed my ladder about 2/3 of the way down the piece of MDF. Then I climbed up on the ladder, lifted and slid the 1 x 6 up into the slot above the side jamb, and nailed it into place as far as I could reach (which wasn’t far considering I’m only 5-feet tall and was standing 24-inches away from the wall).

Initially I drove in about three nails, and when I let go, the weight of the board started pulling the nails out. So I locked the board into place by driving in two nails about an inch apart at opposite angles (see the arrows below). Those opposing angles so close together help to keep tension so that the board can’t pull away.

Then I got down, moved the ladder, and nailed the rest of the board up. Again, I did the shimming and leveling in the wrong order, but it worked anyway. I found the low side, which unfortunately was the right side, and worked from the right side to the left side leveling and shimming.

Obviously that was a problem when I got to the left corner since I had already installed the side jamb and it was holding the head jamb up too high. (You can see how the left side of the top jamb curves up in the picture above.) So once again, I used my handy Dremel MultiMax to cut off about 3/8-inch from the top of the side jamb so that the head jamb could be lowered, shimmed, and leveled.

With the hardest part finished (and a huge sigh of relief), I was able to finish up the right side by attaching the additional 13 inches of head jamb, and then the other side jamb.

The header piece was more challenging than a normal door, of course, since it was 11.5 feet long. I built the whole thing in my entryway, and since the longest MDF pieces are 10 feet long, I had to piece things together to make the header long enough. I pieced the 1 x 6 together on the right side, and pieced the 1 x 2’s together on the left side. That way all of the pieced areas had very solid pieces holding them in place.

And when joining two pieces like that, of course you never want to use butt joints (90-degree angles butted up next to each other). Instead you want to use 45-degree angles so that the joint isn’t as noticeable.

The way I like to do mine is to cut the first piece so that the 45-degree angle angles in towards the surface onto which I’m attaching the trim.

That way the second piece slides underneath the first piece, and you can really push it in there and get a very tight joint. Once it’s wood filled, sanded, and painted, it’s virtually undetectable. When you do it the other way, and the second piece sits on top of the first piece, it isn’t nearly as easy to get a smooth, flawless joint.

When the header was all wood glued and nailed together, I took it into the kitchen and placed it upside down on the peninsula. Then I used a very liberal amount of Loctite construction adhesive on the back. You can see that I also nailed my lattice strips into place above the opening so that I could have more area to nail the header into. I ran out of lattice, so that second to last piece is actually a Home Depot wood yardstick. When you’re working late and you’ve already made your 9:30pm run to Home Depot and forgot to get more lattice, you make do with what ya got.

Then I placed my ladder in the middle, climbed up and lifted the header into place. I pressed the header (with the construction adhesive) onto the wall as hard as I could and as far as I could reach. I know from experience that construction adhesive doesn’t always hold when it should, and this header was fairly heavy, so I was a bit nervous to let go. But I had to if I was going to get it finished. And I couldn’t nail it into place because I couldn’t yet see if it was centered.

So I gave it one more good, solid press into the wall, jumped down from the ladder, hustled to the right end, slid the header over about 1/2-inch so that it was perfectly centered, and then nailed it into place. I wasn’t quite in the “safe zone” yet because if the left side started to fall at that point, the weight of that header would easily pull out those couple of nails, so I jumped down again, hustled to the left side, and nailed it into place on that end. Then I could finally breathe a sigh of relief knowing that it was secure enough that it wasn’t going to fall, and I could take my time to nail it the rest of the way across.

And voila! It’s up! It’s done!

I mean, it’s not done done. I still have to wood fill the joints and nail holes, sand, caulk the cracks, and paint the whole thing. But the building part is done.

Now the other day, I posted this picture on my Facebook page and asked what people thought about me painting the trim black. (And no…there’s no door there! It’s just an open doorway with no door. I just didn’t have the light on in the music room. And I haven’t actually painted any trim yet. That’s just a mock up on the right.)

I was really shocked at the number of people who preferred the black! I had a hard time keeping up after about the 500th comment, but the last time I looked, the black was winning by a landslide.

But here’s the deal. I’m one of those weird people who can’t stand it when things like interior door color, door trim color, baseboard color, and crown moulding color aren’t consistent throughout the entire house. I must have them consistent. All of them. So if I paint these door casings black, that means that all of my door casings in my entire house need to be black. And as much as I love the black on this door (don’t tell my mom, but it really is my favorite), I’m just not sure if I’m ready to make a whole house commitment to black door casings.

What I do want for sure are black interior doors. I now…we’ve been around the block and back on that topic. But black it is. So when I get to the hallway, where I obviously have the highest number of doors, I might try one of them with black casings and a black door and see how I like it. If I love it, I’ll go with it. If it’s too much, then I’ll stick with white casings throughout the whole house. But the doors will be black. For sure.

Am I just being weird, or are you like that too, where you need all of your trim, interior doors, and door casings to be consistent throughout the house? I know there are exceptions, like when people paint their pantry door turquoise or something. Stuff like that doesn’t bother me. But I must have consistency in everything else.

Okay, I’ll be back tomorrow with an update on my “to do” list as I head into the weekend! I’m not sure if I’ll make my goal, but I’m going to give it all I’ve got and try my best!

About Kristi Linauer

Comments

I am in love with everything you have done to your house. Your talent and vision amaze me. I have black interior doors and white trim and I love how everything flows together, the consistency helps that. Whatever your choice, it will be as lovely as the rest of your home. Nicely done.

Kristi – just when I think I’ve seen it all, you do something that is just not possible AGAIN! Installing that 11 foot header by yourself is just . . . jaw-dropping! And it looks amazing! I totally agree with the consistency of casing color you mentioned. That is why I voted against the black on the music room doorway. So I’m very happy you are deferring that to see whether you want all the casings to be black . . eg, just imagine that 11 foot span black?!? Too much for me and as I previously said – what else is black to tie it in, in your kitchen? Anyhow NICE WORK!

SuperKristi does it again! I just love your spunk and ‘git-‘er-done’ attitude. And the opening framing looks just perfect. Your tutorial is excellent as well, clear and explicit with instructions. I just shake my head every day when I read your posts, lol.

Now, I’ll give you my 2 cents worth on the black trim. I am not one who likes the door casings black. Yes, it’s dramatic and trendy, but I think it will chop up your home too much to have black door casings, baseboard trim, and window trim. I think it will look like the outlines on a cartoon and draw attention to itself to the detriment of other elements of your rooms. I’m okay with black doors however. But, again, this is YOUR home, and you must do what you like. How does Matt feel about it? Do you have any pictures of homes with black trim throughout? Could you do a Photoshop image with the black door, window and baseboard trim in, say, your living room? I think what it will boil down to is, what do you want the eye to focus on in your home? Will painting the trim black make it the focus, and is that what you want? Perhaps answering these questions will aid you in your decision.

But, back to a more positive tone, I love the way your tile and trim looks in your kitchen. It is elegant without being ostentatious, and imho strikes the perfect note with the other parts of the room. I’m looking forward to seeing the completed room soon!

Yes, that’s the reason I chose it, it reminded me of your trim without the crown molding, but I like yours better. If you had crown molding on your door casings, I think it would compete with the crown molding on the cabinets and be a bit too formal. I like the craftsman simplicity of your choice. Because you are a craftsman(woman)!

@Alta, all of the spaces that you posted are beautiful, but they are all basically monotone. A totally neutral space like those does look good with all the black, but I just don’t see it in Kristies kitchen. My kitchen/lounge is pretty neutral, with white cabinets and very dark counters and backsplash. I just did the doors and not the woodwork and am thrilled with the look. It just makes it so sophisticated looking.

That’s interesting. The very first thing I noticed about that picture is that the door casings sit on top of the baseboards. :-/ I wonder why they did that. The casings should go all the way to the floor. That looks very strange.

Yes, the trim thing. We have a 1989 house with white trim everywhere. But we have new trim around a new front door that needs to be painted, and we’re thinking about changing out to an off white. Right now I’m considering Polar Bear and Swiss Coffee, both Behr colors. I picked up Polar Bear because i think it’s familiar from this blog. Both are nice. Although I have every intention to do the whole house in the same trim color, the difference is not so stark as to be annoying, although maybe that’s not a good thing ; ). Maybe I need to be annoyed to remember to get it done!

I do love black and have quite a bit of it in my house – but I vote for the white casing (if after 500+ comments that’s still an issue…): I just find it much more beautiful in your pictures and imagining a black door inside, I think I like the contrast better. Well, we’ll see how you decide once you are busy in the entryway/music room
I’m totally impressed by the installation of the header – amazing that you even tried tackling that alone! Of course you managed once you started it – about the only person I can think of to be successful with something like that by herself… Congratulations!

i hate black door with black or white trim. i was looking on houzz.com and there was only one i liked and it had a lot of light. i like white or light wood doors with white or light wood trim. i love black picture frames, lamps, containers for plants and tables. and yes you are weird but so is the rest of us.

I don’t know if it looks the same in person, but in the photo, the black on the door casing makes it seem to disappear. White is more noticeable (for me). My favorite thing about this post is seeing the electrical outlet that you installed on the end cabinet of the counter with the sink! LOVE that; so many people would not think to do that and how much it will simplify their lives when they go to prepare stuff on that counter!

GREAT JOB! Kudos to you for lifting that baby up there! One side to go! I guess I am in the minority concerning your black trim debate for this particular doorway. To me, the black trim does not look right with the subway tile. The white allows the tile to be seen and not be abruptly “cut off” as it does with the black trim. Truthfully, I don’t feel that the black trim pic portrays the elegance or professional quality that the white does. Am hopeful that you accent with black in items, not in wall/trim!

In the short time I’ve been following you, I can see that I am usually in the minority of your readers. I LOVE black doors and trim often, but just not in your kitchen. Maybe it is the green to black relationship, I don’t know. Picturing your newly stained floors in there, too, which seem quite on the amber side to me, it might nod to Haloweeny with the black. I like the white.
You must be so sore today, after all that crazy lifting and twisting!

Bravo! Great job. This was a great post to read. I always learn lots. And I love the headers and will be doing those when we get to that point on our to do list. As for the blank and white I vote white. I think it blends with you kitchen. Going black just seems like it competes with your cabinets.
Keep up the great work. Cheers.

Since you mentioned me in your post I will explain my feelings on the black door trim. First, I think it would have helped if the light had been on in the music room. That would give a better idea of how it really looks. I think the green cabinets are beautiful and should get the attention. If you paint the door trim black I think it will draw attention there. It would be like standing and admiring the wall of cabinets from right to left, continuing on across the black door trim, then on to the fridge/stove wall cabinets, then suddenly the eye jumps back to the door trim with a “what was that” hiccup in there. It would interrupt the flow. And, I definitely think the 11-foot door jamb painted black would be a big distraction. I’ve been there and the white door jamb is beautiful and elegant looking with the tile, without yelling, “Look at me!”

Hi Kristi, I so admire your work ethic, but sometimes I wonder if you don’t make things harder on yourself than necessary. That eleven foot span is huge. Since you had to piece it anyway, why didn’t you just cut it in half and do two manageable pieces. Your talent at filling and spackling and sanding is with out equal. Seems as though it would have been easier to do it that way. Also, I do not understand why you don’t use your countertops to stand on? Or kneel on rather than kill yourself moving the ladder. Anyway, you got it done and how cool is it to look into the breakfast room through that huge opening. You must be thrilled. As far as the wood work goes, painting the trim around the door black ruins the whole effect of the black door. Black doors lend an aura of sophistication to a space and your beautiful cabinets and lighting demand that. You wanted to paint your interior doors anyway, so why not black. I don’t know how many there are, but I have seen plenty of examples on Houzz that have hallways with multiple doors. I will have a total of 7 standout black spaces (10) if I count the doubles and triples as more than 1 space and so far it is looking fabulous. Paint your doors, but not your wood work, unless, for example, in Matts game room you are going with a very masculine look then I could see using black. I have a billiard room on my first floor, and and all the wood work is painted a color that looks likes wheat. It is a colonial color whose name I do not remember. The insides of the double doors leading from the foyer and also from the lounge are painted the same color on the inside, but on the outside in the foyer they are white, and on the lounge side they were white but are not black. I cannot tell you the air of sophistication these black doors give a space. I was just thinking about you last night as I was relaxing in the tub, well not you but your big kitchen drawers. I have a large three piece wall unit that has glass doors on the two end units and solid wood on the bottom. The center unit which is a bit larger was for a TV, vcr at one time. It is Pennsylvania House furniture so it is well made and in a French Country style. After I give it a good wipe down with TSP and then maybe mineral spirits I plan to dry brush an off white paint on it to catch in the nooks and cranies. On the flat sides I will use a roller but wipe most if it off. Here is the part where you inspired me….I have a beautiful piece of antique toile fabric that I found online. I had planned to decoupage it on the inserts of the door. Now I thing I am going to remove the doors cut out the inserts with the dremelmax and then cover with the fabric and decoupage and then I will put them back in place. That way there will be no chance of frayed edges etc. I am excited to get started on this piece and once it is done it is going to be where I store my shoes, boots and handbags. I won’t have closet space like I have now when we downsize so I am rethinking every thing that I have and finding a new purpose for it. Anyway, onward and upward, and get that peninsula done, ya’ll! Blessings

I never put seams, joints, lines or anything else right in the middle of anything. That’s a standard rule I follow whether I’m building, sewing, painting a landscape, or doing almost anything else. Joints and seams offset from the center as much as possible almost always preferable and far less noticeable when finished.

I don’t stand on my countertop completely because that puts me too high and I couldn’t see what I was working on. Having one foot on the ladder step just below countertop level, and the other foot on the countertop to balance, works best for me. Kneeling on the countertop puts me too low.

I get what you are saying about the seam, but I didn’t mean exactly in the center. I do the same with sewing but was thinking more like short, long, short. I should have stated that. Anyway, the other thing I wanted to say when I went back and took another look at the picture into your breakfast room ( which just gives me chills, it is so cool looking) is that I love the siding on the wall. I know the rest of the room is different, but since there is a door that breaks the siding from the rest of the room and it is probably about the size space you would use for your table, might you consider leaving it and painting it and then doing something else with the rest of the room? Since you have the doorway from the kitchen and that door in the opposite wall, it almost creates a separate dining space for you. I love the way the siding looks. Also wondering, but you probably haven’t yet decided, what your will do re you pantry, utility room area. I think putting it where you did was genius.

I’m almost certain I won’t leave that siding exposed. I love the look of it, but if you were to see it up close, you’d see how rough and old it looks. It would be great if it could be sanded/stripped, and then primed and repainted, because it’s solid wood. The probably is that I’d be willing to bet that it’s covered in lead paint. It’s exterior paint from the late 40’s/early 50’s. And I really don’t want to have to deal with removing lead paint. I already have to deal with the asbestos floor tiles in that room, although I’ll probably just be covering them with concrete to level the floor and then putting subfloor and hardwood floor over it.

As far as the pantry, I’ll be doing the last option that I showed with the walk-through butler’s pantry and the utility room on the right side of what is now the sunroom.

What a shame! I wasn’t around for the asbestos tile but I can certainly understand not wanting to fool with lead paint. That could certainly have health compromising issues and you don’t need that. The house has such a great foot print and what you are doing to it just enhances it even more. Have you ever posted a picture of the outside? Since I just started following you about the time of the kitchen project, I have only see bits and pieces of the other things that you have done. Some of the condo pictures are lovely. I especially loved the banquette wall in your dining space. It is all so much work, there surely must be times you could just wave a magic wand and have it all done! I know I have those thoughts. Then I think about hiring someone and I just hate to spend money on something that I can do. I think your pantry and utility room choice is great. It will be convenient to everything. Have a good week end. Blessings.

As always I’m so impressed with your work. I was showing my husband the last pictures of the doorway. I told him the first picture was the beautiful trim work you did and the second was before the trim work. Then after closer reading I realized that the second picture was actually the same but in black. Seems to me that in black the trim lost some of those great details. The header looks so great in white but doesn’t stand out in black. And I too like all casework and doors to be consistent.

Worked with an interior designer in my house who gave me the guts not to have everything match. One consistency is wood baseboard trim. That’s it. Didn’t think I would like it, but I do. I think if you kept the black to the music room, kitchen and breakfast room, you could do something different in other areas of the house.

I definitely don’t think that having everything match is a general decorating rule that everyone should follow. It’s just a rule I like to have for my own house based on my own personality and my need for consistency. I’m a touch OCD when it comes to things like that, so living with that kind of inconsistency would drive me crazy. For others, I think it’s perfectly fine.

After reading many of the comments about your choice of black or white for the trim, I realized that many of the opinions favoring the black trim were mistakenly thinking that there was a black door there as well. That may have skewed the results in favor of black. I think the white is beautiful and elegant and shows the detail of the woodwork so much better.

I too agree with your Mom…all white trim please. As for that header, I am in total shock and awe that you did that by yourself. Now make sure you soak all those sore muscles in a nice warm bubble bath, hmmm a few candles, a nice glass of the bubbly…uhhh I have to go I hear a tub and bottle calling me

I, do, white trim and after looking at the links Alta included, I’d definitely say white with the black doors. Very classy. Besides, I keep picturing black trim in your living room and don’t think it would work at all IMHO.

You did an amazing job, considering you have NO help. My neck, back and arms hurt, just looking at your photos and thinking about you scrambling about. It looks great! As for black interior doors, I’m not such a big fan but if anyone can make a believer out of me, it would be YOU! Go for it!

If you like all your trim and casings to be the same throughout – then do not paint black! Too much of a good thing! Stick with the white. Always classic and always right! The room is going to be beyond beautiful!

I loved that post. You have more “Can Do” spirit than anybody I know. I have to say that I’m against the crowd on the black trim. I really like white with the tile. I truly don’t mind a black door with white trim, though. I think the contrast between the black door and the white trim is what really makes a black door stand out. And I’m with you on having the trim throughout the house the same. Otherwise, it’s looks a little odd to me, especially when rooms are open to each other.

I prefer the white casings throughout. Consider also since the casings detail matches if you went black around the music room door you would have to go black around that 11foot header…. which in my opnion would look terrible.

I think the work that you’re doing is amazing. I would never attempt to renovate a kitchen the way that you have. The one comment that I have is about that top jab. Isn’t that going to drive you nuts seeing a seam 13″ from the wall? If it were me, I would have cut your full length in half and put the seam in the middle. Like you with consistency with molding colors, I get nuts with seams, and an off center seam would make me rip the whole thing out and redo.

Well, of course, the goal is that when I’m finished, the seam will be completely hidden. But no, it doesn’t bother me. It was a deliberate decision to put it as far over to the right as possible. I have a general rule where I avoid putting seams, joints, or anything else down the middle of something. For example, if you’re making an upholstered headboard that required two widths of fabric, you never, ever, ever put the seam right down the middle. You split the second width of fabric, and put one width on each side of the first width.

On this in particular, my thinking was that I didn’t want any joints directly in any natural line of sight. When someone walks into the kitchen, the first thing they’ll see is straight ahead into the breakfast room. So putting a joint in that line of sight was off limits. Then the eye naturally goes towards the windows in the breakfast room, so putting a joint in that line of sight was off limits. So I put it as far over to the right as possible so that it wouldn’t be in any natural line of sight, and hopefully nobody will ever notice it.

Things that are right in the middle of something…that’s where the eye naturally goes, and seams and joints are not really something I ever want to show off.

I seldom respond to blog posts but I must say you are amazing. You have such a can do and can redo (lol) attitude. You are inspiring. My husband and I plan to buy a fixer out of state when he retires at the end of the year and I can’t wait. I don’t plan to be as ambitious as you are but will be doing many projects. Thanks for sharing. Glenda

You just have to defy all odds. LOL. What you did was amazing. I agree with your mother about all white casings. Think about your windows. You don’t want black casings on your windows! But it’s just paint and it can always be repainted if you don’t like it.

You did an incredible job with that header…such hard work! I still don’t see how you do all that you do. I don’t think you are weird at all…it’s consistent, white casings for me. I think anything else just competes with your wall color, furnishings, and even rugs.

I was thinking screws for the top piece which may have made it easier to yield single-handedly. The board could have been pre-drilled with holes larger than the screw heads to counter sink them, and then one hand is free to hold the board. I just think of my own tools and house and I cannot even hold a nail gun above my head (too heavy) and all my walls are masonry, so only screws work. Depends on what your receptacle material is as well, plaster or drywall might be dictate screws, nails tend to pop over time.

Great work on installing that header/doorway trim!! I can’t believe you pulled it off by yourself, you ROCK! I totally love it in white against your gorgeous new white tiles. If you went black on the trim I think it would start to look too “1950’s bathroom tile-ish” and not complement the stunning green cabinets or the wood floor. Your home has wonderful classic style and I really think that black trim/doors is just too modern/trendy for the things you’ve got going on so far. My vote is to go with white on white all the way through for trim and doors since you aren’t able to have white trim with stained wood doors which is really classy and classic IMHO.

I can’t imagine that trim in anything but white. It’s beautiful and classic, and gives your cabinetry its due. There’s something about the proportions of the frames that reminds me of classical architecture (and after all, Greek columns look good in white, too). Well done!

Kristie, as a 5’1″ gal myself, I can totally relate to getting “creative” when doing projects that really are best with two or more people. I have had to make weird contraptions or stack stuff in order to get the height needed to hold something in place. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t, but I kept trying.

I just found your website and it’s AWESOME!! We are in the process of buying a real fixer upper as well and this is such inspiration. You now have me on pins and needles daily like a daily soap opera to see what you else you have marked off your list.

Kristi, I agree with you that that gray door casing looks weird not going all the way to the floor. I just posted the pic as an example of having the door and trim the same color with white baseboard. But, I’m really happy to hear that you’ve decided on all white trim. The pictures do tell the tale, don’t they?

I LOVE black, and the black doorways BUT, not in your kitchen!! You have worked so hard on those cabinets and they are a very strong color. If you put black doorways in I think they will detract from the cabinets, which are beautiful. I think the white is very pretty also, but I confess to being more of a farmhouse, cottagey, French country kinda gal. Anyway, that’s my 500 and something opinion. You are amazing and it will be terrific when finished no matter what you decide.

Can you take one more ” YOU ARE SO AWESOME!” ? ‘Cause you are.
I’m doing trim painting in my house right now, vertical door trim in white and horizontal wall trim (at the floor) in Ostrich egg by Clark and Kensington . So far, I’m liking it!

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